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Kovember 26, 1904
BT^rr.or) AND GTJIDE
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Dat)-iii) ID RfA,LEstate.BbUDij/o A,RCH:rrECTURE.HoTisi:i(oiDDEGfflifiBM(.
BusiiJess Alb Themes op Ge[Jer^1 IHte^st.
PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS
Published eVery Saturday
Communications should bo a
, C. W. SWEET. 14-16 Vesey !
3. T. LINDSEV, Ruslucaa Manager
Pelephone, Cortlandt 3157
"JSnlered al tht; Post Office at Nete Tork. N. Y-. a
s second-class inaller."
Vol. LXXIV. November 2G, 1904.
No. 1915.
THE bull market continues 'wath unabated momentum, and
the time is not very far off when the majority of active
stocks 'Will have reached the level of t'^vo years. We doubt
'Whether in the history of Wall Slreet a larger and more con¬
tinuous recovery has succeeded such a large continuous slump-
all within the space of eighteen or twenty months. The question
is rapidly becoming acute whether the swing of the pendulum
has carried the level of prices too high, or whether they will go
higher still before they go lower. Every indication points to a
stiil higher level in the immediate future, particularly for the
industrials. It is freely predicted that Steel Preferred wil! go
to par or even to 110, and if so the other good industrial stocks
will not lag far behind. The question is, however, whether they
are worth as much as par or more than par for investment
purposes, and the answer is that, although they probably will be
'worth par or more eventually, the time has not yet corae when
. they can be expected to maintain prices so unprecedentedly
high. Their position as investments is better than it was two
years ago, and the preferred stocks of the conservatively man¬
aged companies may be expected to sell eventually on almost a
six per cent, basis; but further vicisitudes are to be expected
before this desirable result is obtained. As to railroad stocks,
they are selling now on a basis that does not offer very tempt¬
ing returns in interest, and reasons for any further advances in
these securities must come from "deals" and similar strategic
financiering.
THB most salient characteristic of the real estate market
during the past week has been the evidence afforded of
broadening activity. The speculation in Bronx and Washington
Heights lots still dominates the trading; but not to the same
extent as formerly. The buying is better than it has been in
several important directions. In the first place Mr. Haggin's
renewed desire to build on the land formerly owned by the
Progress Club, with which the improvement in the stock market
is probably directly associated, indicates plainly that during
1905 the very expensive residence property will probably again
be in good demand. The pace which was maintained in 1902
'will not be equalled, but a number of important new and ex¬
pensive residences, the construction of which was abandoned
in 1903, will be resumed, and new ones will be started. Then
Mr. J. P. Morgan's purchase of the Stokes house, which com¬
pletes his ownership of the block-front, foreshadows the build¬
ing of what may well he the most magnificent residence in
New York City. This residence may not be started imme¬
diately; bnt Mr. Morgan assuredly intends to build it, and there
WiU be others. In another direction, also, an excellent demand
is being developed, and that is for property on the margin of the
most expensive business district down town. During the next
few years many sky-scrapers will be erected on the narrow
streets in these districts; and the reason simply is that the
property more conveniently situated is already either improved
or withdrawn frora the market. The new sky-scrapers will be
built chiefly on Washington, West and William sts. and on some
of tne many smaller streets to the east of William st. As to the
speculation in lots it is not developing any new characteristics.
In volume it is about the same as ever; but that ia all there
is to say about it. It may be remarked, however, that so far
as the Bronx is concerned dealing in improved properly has
ceased almost entirely. Thus during the past week out of
about 110 sales of Bronx property over 90 were vacant lots.
This is too large a proposition to constitute a healthy market.
provisions are to be borrowed from the so-called Elsberg Bill.
One is that future subways shall be subject to taxation, and
the other is that the Commission shall have the power to con¬
struct "additional subways itself, prqvided proper terms cannot
be oblained from private companies. The Record and Guide
was the first responsible newspaper in the city to point out
the necessity of granting such a power to the Rapid Transit
Commission. Private companies are extremely loth to pay the
full value of transit franchises into the municipal treasury;
and the only way the Commission can protect itself against a
combination of possible bidders for the purpose of cheapening
any franchises which may be offered is by the possession of
the power to construct, if necessary, an independent line with
the city's own money. It may never be necessary to use this
power; but it w.iil be a valuable weapon to be used in negotia¬
tion. There can be no doubt that in the long run the two in¬
terests, which control the Interborough and the New York City
Railway Companies will unite and that when this time comes
the Commission will need every possible resource in order to
keep the Octopus from devouring the enormous pi'ofit to be
derived from the subiA'ay transit system.
riore Rapid Transit.
7 T is rather discouraging to hear that the ilapid Transit Com-
â– ^ mission is waiting for more legislation before offering any
new subway routes to public competition, but at all events the
legislation which is wanted looks in the right direction. Two
THE Subway has now been in operation a sufficiently long
time lo enable the observer lo estimate accurately the ex¬
tent to w.hich it will improve the conditions, under which the
residents of Manhattan and the Eronx can travel up and down
Manhatlan. The first remark is. of course, that however con¬
venient it is to many thousand people, it has not perceptibly
diminished the overcrowding of trains during the rush hours.
The proportion of passengers who obtain a seat when travel is
heaviest is apparently not much larger than it was before. And
this is always the extraordinary thing about any improvement
in the means of communication of a city like New York. Every
new line of transit creates, as it were, its own traffic, and does
not materially diminish the number of passengers carried by
' other lines. Thus, during the first twelve days of November,
the Subway must have carried somewhere near 2,500,000 pas¬
sengers, and it might have been supposed that the majority of
these fares would have been obtained at the expense of the ele¬
vated roads. £iich, however, was not the case. The cars of
the Manhatlan company carried only about 113,000 fewer pas¬
sengers during that period, and while the loss of the New York
City Railway Company may have been heavier, it cannot have
been very much heavier. The fact is, of course, that the better
the machinery, the larger the travel. It must be remembered,
also, that the Subway will also create its own traffic in another
sense. Within a few years it will have encouraged thousands f
people to live on Washington Heights, and these families will,
of course, be so circumstanced that they will depend almost ex¬
clusively on the Subway for their means of travel. Of course,
the carrying capacity of the tunnel can be increased, but, ob¬
viously, me utmost energy should be used to provide additional
facilities against the day when the capacity of the existing
Subway will be severely strained.
There are two ways of adding to the transit machinery
of the city. One is by building new lines, and the olher is
by making the most of the lines already in existence. The work
of laying out new routes is necessarily slow; but lhal of im¬
proving the existing machinery needs less consideration, and
has the advantage of being possible of quick completion. We
mentioned a few weeks ago a plan for the complele utilization
of the elevated structures, which was being considered; and,
since during the past week this plan has been definitely an¬
nounced and fully outlined, it may be expected that it will soon
become a matier of actual negotiation. All of the proposed im¬
provements look, as they should, towards the development of the
express service. The plan is to add two tracks to the Second
Avenue line, thus giving il four tracks throughout its entire
length. The two additional tracks will be used for express
trains exclusively during the rush hours, and the cars will be
run in the same direction on bolh tracks. The expectation is
that in this way the people living in the Bronx and working
down town will be supplied with a much improved service. At
the aame tirae the Third Avenue line will be third-tracked as
far South as Ninth St., so that the express trains on that struc¬
ture, which will serve the tipper East Side of Manhattan, can
make very much better time. Finally, the third track on the
Ninth Avenue structure is to be extended south of Christopher st
to Rector at. There can be no doubt that theae improvements of
the elevated structures wonld be a wonderful boon to the people
of the city. They have the particular merit of giving most help
to those parts of the city which most need help, viz., the East
Side of the Bronx and Manhattan; and the new tracks could